Hestia



Hestia's Appearance: A sweet, modestly dressed young woman. She often is shown wearing a veil.Hestia's Symbol or Attribute: The hearth and the tamed fire which burns there.

Hestia's Strengths: Constant, calm, gentle, and supportive of the family and home.

Her Weaknesses: Cool emotionally.

Hestia's Affairs and Relationships: Though she was courted by Poseidon and Apollon, Hestia chose to remain a virgin. She occasionally had to fend off the attacks of Priapus and other sexually promiscuous creatures and divinities.

Children of Hestia: Hestia had no children.

Major Temple Sites for Hestia: Her public hearths were called the prytaneion (also spelled Prytaneum). Greek colonists would kindle fire from her hearth in the prytaneion and keep it lit until they reached the hearths of new towns and cities. There is one of these at Olympia and at Delphi.

Hestia's Basic Myth: Hestia is the eldest daughter of the Titans Rhea and Kronos (also spelled Chronos. Like the rest of his children, he ate her but she eventually was regurgitated by him. She asked Zeus to be the goddess of the hearth, and she kept the hearth lit at Mount Olympus.

Interesting Facts about Hestia: Hestia was one of three goddesses immune to the influence of Aphrodite. She could not be forced to love anyone. In Rome, a similar goddess, Vesta, ruled over the group of priestesses called the Vestal Virgins whose duty it was to keep the sacred fire perpetually lit.